US skier nears 'perfection' with 40th win

Shiffrin’s back-to-back wins saw her maintain an unbeaten record in 2018 and become an even hotter favorite for both those Olympic titles — she will be defending her slalom crown — when the Winter Games gets underway in PyeongChang, South Korea next month.

It wasn’t just victory that drew the eye in Sunday’s slalom event, it was the manner in which she achieved it.

Shiffrin set a blistering pace on her first run, clocking at time of 51.44 seconds — almost 1.50 seconds faster than her nearest rival Frida Hansdotter of Sweden.

With the cushion of a huge lead, Shiffrin’s eased off slightly for her second run but she still managed to extend her overall winning margin to 1.64 seconds over Hansdotter with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener taking third place.

“My first run was really really good and my second run was really good too,” Shiffrin told reporters.

“I felt so clean and aggressive on the first run. I don’t know if a perfect run is even possible but it was very close,” the American added.